how strong is the aod tranny

i have a 91 5.0 and aod out of a thunderbird the drive train is stock but will probably be beefed up some in the future.but 1 st it will be placed in a 72 mav stock but wanted to beef the aod 1st before installtion like a new tci constant valve body with a steady line pressure and better shift charteristics ,is the aod a good performance tranny ? everyone here who has used please with it
i know it has a lock up convertor but in the furture i might add a non-lock convertor for more performance

 

In stock form it ok, not to tough, but it has potential.

 

The actual dear train is fairly strong - say up to 450 HP.
The clutches and bands need to be improved for long life and/or performance.
The constant pressure valve body is a good upgrade but it may not be the most comfortable for street use.

 

I have an AOD (converted to AODE) that was built to withstand 500hp - according to the respected tranny builder.

I launched it at the track several times at 1.5X 60' in a heavy Mustang convertible without a problem.

I dunno what the builder did to it to "beef it up", but to answer your question, (IMO) the AOD isn't the best for "performance" (due to the added weight), but it makes for a great strip/street combo transmission.

The C4 would be a better choice for track only application (again, simply because it weighs less).

 

The C4 is lighter, Shifts faster, has a stronger case and costs half as much......
That is why I put C4s in MY cars.

 

the OD is the only plus...

 

And it is only a plus if you are using a 3.70 or higher gear in the rear end.
If you are running stock gears of 2.9 then the OD ratio is only 2.0 and that will put your carb into the off-idle range where the fuel/air ratio is very rich. Plus when you try to accelerate it puts you right into the power circuit and it gets even richer. You can end up getting worse mileage than you had before.
You can also flush the oil off the cylinders with excess fuel and wear the engine out quicker too. Just remember that everything has to work together to work well - changing one component often requires changing others to get the optimum benefit.

 

Did you ment to say 3.70 or lower gear. The stock gear is higher than a 3.70. 4.11 is lower than 3.70

 

Higher NUMERICALLY........